ASPRS-RMR Board of Director Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Participants:
Trent Casi
Matt Cross
Clyde Hubbard
Jeff Liedtke
Linda Meyer
Sheila Pelczarski
Jeff Young
Start 12:30pm
Introduction
Sheila Pelczarski swore in Jeff Liedtke as President.
Liedtke then called the meeting to order and asked the new Rocky Mtn. Region Board members to introduce themselves and briefly describe their background and what they do in the industry, and why they support ASPRS.
GIS in the Rockies Conference
Matt Cross summarized the last GISR meeting in December. The Ranch in Loveland was selected as the 2009 venue; a discussion of pros and cons ensued. It is a long drive for the people participating from south Denver ~ and it is a closer drive for participants in Fort Collins and Cheyenne.
A theme has not been decided yet, but current ideas surrounding the new ‘green economy’ and the energy economy and infrastructure will likely be incorporated into the 2009 theme. Forward any ideas you may have to Matt or Kendall.
ASPRS-RMR has two representatives in the GISR planning committee: Kendall Rhodes is working on the technical program again; Matt Cross will focus on vendor support, as well as other duties. As RMR Past President, Victoria Provenza is now serving on the GISR Board of Directors.
Comment was made that GISR is a major source for our scholarship funds, and that ASPRS needs to monitor conference expenditures and avoid financial difficulties. The next GISR planning meeting will be early February.
Treasury Report
Linda Meyer reported that the checking account balance is about $8,000, and the CD account balance was $18,000 (she of course had exact figures). Net cost for the annual dinner was ~$500.
Meyer will provide Liedtke with the ASPRS member rebate forms. Liedtke will apply for the rebate – needs membership stats from Ms. Hing.
Meyer and Liedtke will investigate potential income from the 2008 Pecora conference ~ customary reimbursement is 5% - 10% depending on the expenses incurred and level of participation by the RMR.
Meyer will investigate submission of Federal forms (Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N), and will respond as appropriate.
Young moved that ASPRS-RMR develop a budget for the year, Liedtke seconded the motion. Need Board vVote.
Membership
A major goal for the ASPRS-RMR is to increase membership; there are about 330 (TBD) members in the Rocky Mountain Region, with 70 in the Rio Grande chapter.
Liedtke proposed that we have a membership drive where we compare the present member list with lists from previous years to identify and compile lapsed memberships. Call lists will be created to contact past members who did not renew. Potential questions include:
o Did member know their membership lapsed?
o Why did they decide not to renew?
o Are they current members of other geospatial organizations? Which ones?
o What is their perceived value of maintaining these memberships?
This membership drive needs to be seconded and voted upon.
Regional Chapters
Currently, the Rio Grande Chapter in New Mexico and the Montana State Univ. Chapter are the most active. Clyde Hubbard is the Regional Director (At-Large) with the Rio Grande Chapter. Rick Lawrence is the Regional Director (General) in Montana.
Michaela Buenemann at NMSU Las Cruces is working to establish a student chapter. She has bylaws and other historical info from chartering student chapters in the past. Amy Budge may be interested in helping to establish another student chapter in an Albuquerque community college. These potential chapters will be administered via the Rio Grande chapter.
Other potential student chapters include Wyoming (Laramie), and Montana Universities. Liedtke subsequently spoke with Rick Lawrence who suggested that a student chapter be established comprised of students of ALL Montana Universities rather than individual Montana universities. It is assumed that there is nothing in the bylaws to preclude this arrangement. Needs further investigation and vetting by the BoD. CSU’s student chapter, once the most active student chapter, has lapsed. It was suggested that this chapter be re-invigorated by establishing a faculty member to champion the chapter.
All student chapters will be supervised and administered through their regional directors. It was requested that ASPRS-RMR continue to help sponsor student members in the Rio Grande region, where ASPRS-RMR rebates a portion of the membership fee (RMR = $20), as has been done in the past. Rio Grande could rebate the remainder ($25) for each student member.
ASPRS-RMR has also traditionally supported student chapter meetings by providing pizza and soda pop for the meeting. This is expected to continue, depending on the budget.
Clyde Hubbard mentioned that Curtis Clabaugh from WY DOT may be a good candidate for helping to establish a Wyoming chapter. Jeff Young also knows Clabaugh and volunteered to assist in this endeavor.
Rio Grande Chapter
Besides the various student chapter activities (see above) the region is active in the “Best of the West” seminar series. Another important venue is the New Mexico GIS Advisory Committee meeting (March 14) which includes many federal, state and local government orgs. Hubbard requested brochures, membership forms and other ASPRS literature and marketing material to support these meetings. Details to be forthcoming in subsequent Board meetings.
Newsletter
Matt Wood resigned his post and we ask that all ASPRS-RMR BoD members actively seek a replacement. Pelczarski sent out an all-points-bulletin requesting volunteers for this position week of January 25.
Material for the newsletter needs to be solicited in the next few weeks (by early March). Potential contributing articles include Message from the President and Past President, Rio Grande and Montana Regional Directors, Region’s Goals and Objectives for 2009 (Liedtke), National Directors Report, Annual Dinner Summary, and others as appropriate.
The region’s website software needs to be upgraded to better support the construction and updating of additional web pages by chapters. Pelczarski will investigate the cost to upgrade our sw and inquire about the availability of our web contractor. We will need to identify needs and statement of work as the ASPRS-RMR website evolves, especially with the addition of more regional chapters.
National Director Report
Jeff Young spoke with Jim Plasker and learned that Jesse Winch needs to be notified about Young’s new role as ASPRS-RMR National Director. This will trigger a series of events to get Jeff and the RMR up to speed on national info and developments. Jeff will be sworn into office during the ASPRS national annual conference in Baltimore.
Regional Goals and Objectives
o Rocky Mountain Region endeavors to be ASPRS “Region of the Year,” as well as “Newsletter of the Year” and “Website of the Year.”
o Increase membership by identifying and creating value to the members.
o Establish two or more student and/or regional chapters to better serve our members
o Increase participation of the members in industry and society events by fostering cooperation, collaboration and education with other organizations in the Rocky Mountain Region.
o Shall we resume technical presentations before/after BoD meetings, as suggested by Clyde Hubbard?
o Others Goals and Objectives???
These G&O will be sent out to the BoD for review and input, then voted upon.
One way to increase value to ASPRS-RMR members is to offer more professional networking events and increase exposure to other organizations in the region. These organizations include RM-URISA, RM-GITA, GISCO, DRCOG, AAG and other organizations. It is anticipated that financial sponsorship will be modest, by providing refreshments or similar for networking meetings and seminars.
The first collaborative event will be “Career Night” scheduled February 25th at 5:30 PM at Metro State College (Tivoli Center). It is being sponsored by URISA and GISCO, and the requested fee from ASPRS is $150 for refreshments. If approved by the Board, we will be given time to discuss ASPRS as well as be a part of the panel to discuss the GIS industry and where we believe it is going. Jeff L. highly recommends our participation in this event, and would be good exposure as well as offering networking opportunities outside our traditional pond.
Outstanding Business
Business issues needing to be voted upon:
o ASPRS-RMR 2009 Goals and Objectives
o Development of a financial budget for the year 2009
o Conduct membership drive where lapsed members are contacted and solicited for renewal
o ASPRS-RMR to help the Rio Grande and other chapters to sponsor student members with:
a) Rebate of student membership dues ($20)
b) Sponsor refreshments for student chapter meetings (pizza and soda pop)
o Shall we upgrade our web development software to better support the ASPRS-RMR website as our needs grow? Need cost info.
o Shall we help sponsor “Career Night” for $150?